Eye on the Sky: The Expectancy of Blessings

One night as I was driving south on I-65 I looked up into the west sky and to my amazement I caught a shooting star. I was overcome with delight. I’ve only ever caught sight of three in my lifetime. One was on the night of my 19th birthday and I insisted that it was God’s birthday present to me. As I continued my quest home I began to ponder the frequency of what we call shooting stars. I was looking up at just the right moment to see this wonder. The duration of the event was less than three seconds but it is burned into my thoughts forever. There is no doubt in my mind that I’ve missed many shooting stars simply because my attention was elsewhere. Lasting only a moment, how can one possibly expect to see them except to constantly be staring up? What reason have I to look at the sky other than the fact that is a beautiful manifestation of God’s own nature: wide, mysterious, and absolutely stunning.

This brought me to question the nature of God’s blessings. How many times have I missed them because I wasn’t looking in the right direction? How long has God been trying to grasp my attention? More so how many times have those blessings fallen on me and I’ve not even realized? God is constantly blessing us in ways unimaginable. However, we only recognize those that we expect and pray for. Never mind the fact that He is giving us the health to live through one more day. Forget the fact that we live in a country where we are given more opportunities and handouts than any other country in this world. It doesn’t matter that He has afforded us the opportunity to live in this day and age to have a direct relationship with Him. There are no high priests to go through, no animal blood sacrifices. We can come to Him at anytime and ask forgiveness and it’s granted. Just as we take for granted all the shooting stars that have occurred without us watching, think of all the blessings we take for granted just because we didn’t expect them.

Driving that night I had no reason to be looking up. To you fellow drivers I imagine you’d prefer my gaze elsewhere-- explicitly the road. I just happened to cast my gaze heavenward and enjoy God’s creation. It still would have happened weather I was looking or not but my curious nature was rewarded by a show that is unsurpassed by any special effects that man can make in the pictures. At that moment I remembered how important it was to remember that a world exists outside of me. I am not alone in the world and that someone somewhere was experiencing the same marvel.

God’s blessings are never far. He is constantly giving us what we need and, at times, things we long for. I was happy with my new found intellect on the issue and found that even in this God has granted me just a little more information on who He really is. I love getting to know God on this level. He knows just how to appeal to me. It’s almost like we’re the best of friends laughing and joking about the same inside jokes or T.V. show. I was just feeling my smile fade as I turned left onto highway fifty heading toward home. I looked up once more into the sky not expecting anything but the brilliant stars. Again, in that brief moment, I was awestruck as I watched another star fall from the sky. Hey, like I said, God knows just how to appeal to me.